Dance Again
by FlawlessCaskett
Summary: Kate really had expected everything ranging from Castle breaking up with her - giving up on them (wasn't she going to?), over despairingly begging her to stay, to telling her he was going to come with her, that they would make it work. My take on a Watershed post-ep. Kind of. Update: New chapter is on now!
1. Chapter 1

So, I finally managed to get a start on a new story, it'll be a multi chapter kinda post watershed fic. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think & thank you for reading!

* * *

**_Dance again_**

_Kneeling down, Castle looked up at her with those puppy dog eyes, obviously trying to be patient, waiting for her answer. As patient as a man waiting for a woman to answer his proposal can be, anyway._

_She took her time thinking it through, before letting any kind of reaction appear on her face. He really got her there, totally surprised her by saying the only thing she didn't anticipate, didn't calculate when planning on how to handle the possible scenarios, the directions this conversation could take, always being painfully aware that it most likely wouldn't be pretty for either of them._

_Kate really had expected everything ranging from Castle breaking up with her - giving up on them (wasn't she going to?), over despairingly begging her to stay, to telling her he was going to come with her, that they would make it work. So she could take the job in D.C. that meant leaving life how it used to be behind and starting all over again. Because that's what she wanted, that job. _  
_Or so she thought at least, now she wasn't so sure about that anymore. Now that this sweet man sitting in the sand on a playground in front of her, the intent look in his eyes only partially masking his adorable unease, had offered her all of himself without asking anything but her commitment in return._

_"Whatever you decide."_

_Suddenly her career, the wonderful opportunity, didn't seem so important anymore, next to Castle, who deserved to have his family around and his friends _and_ the woman he so desperately loved, that he was willing to let her go chase her dreams, if only she agreed to become his wife and leave her heart with him._

_And that's probably what did it for her, what made her face lighten up, what made her pondering expression vanish to let a broad grin take it's place, what made her fall to her knees herself to throw her arms around him and kiss him and tell him_

_"Yes, Castle, yes!"_

_Finally. The music was playing again._

* * *

It's 3:41 am, he is as fast asleep as possible considering the uncomfortable position his tired body had taken after he allowed himself to close his eyes for a few minutes. Still sitting in the hard plastic chair, still grasping her small hand in his larger one, but bend over, his head resting half against the frame of her bed and half against her thigh.

When her thin hoarse voice gets through to him, his lids shoot up, no sleepy haze covering his sight. He'd been waiting for that moment for the past 8 weeks after all.

"Yesss... Casss-tle, yesss"

It sends a rush of adrenaline through his veins, that first time hearing her after he spend so many days worrying he might never be able to again, thinking about the last words she said to him, the last things he said to her, silly things, silly words. That silly fight. She couldn't die on him now. Not when their last memory together was a nasty argument, declaring they were done. And not ever. Stay with me. Just don't die.

Castle's eyes fall to her barely open ones, her gaze unsteadily wandering around until settling on his when he starts to speak,

"Kate! Oh my God Kate, your awake! How do you feel?"

Her throat is sore, she has difficulties to breathe, let alone forming anything close to coherent sentences. Heavy fingers are slowly dragged along her cheek, so tenderly you'd think a too intense touch could break her fragile face.

The never stopping ache in her head makes her close her eyes in pain, her hand rising to rest against her temple.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Oh Kate, I'm so glad you're okay!" Castle's voice is soft, bringing her to a reality that just doesn't want to make any sense to her yet.

"Wha... Whahappen'? I... ow... my..", Kate manages to press out between gritted teeth, tapping her chest, when a violent cough rumbles trough her torso and shakes her weak frame.

"Shh, it's all good, you'll be fine, let me call a nurse, I'll be back in a second, sweetheart."

The chair beside her bed creaks under the sudden loss of Castle's weight when he gets up and to the door on the other end of the room.

Kate now gets a clearer vision, noticing all the beeping machines surrounding her, a terrible déjà vu of waking up after her heart surgery making her nervous and anxious, her erratic breathing accelerates with her heart rate, causing the monitor to make even more frantic noises.

She senses him hurrying back to her side, two nurses and a doctor on his heels. Castle's hand closes around hers again, ripping her out of that painful retrospection that almost drowned her once more, being as vivid as the first weeks after the shooting, when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night, bathed in her own sweat.

"He there, welcome back. Honey, listen, you need to calm down. You're confused and afraid, that's totally normal. It's gonna be okay", a friendly looking woman in a white tunic tells her while a man in scrubs checks the machines, the IV line and the infusion bag.

Intimidated by three strangers scurrying around her, Kate tries to find Castle's eyes, focussing on the familiarity of his face rather than all these things that are happening so fast that she lost track of them. One moment she is wrapped up in Castle's - her fiancé's - arms and a single short blink later she lies here in a hospital bed, unable to think straight, her whole body hurting like crap.

What the hell happened to her?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm really deeply sorry that it took me oh so long to update! I had so much stuff going on lately and when I had time I just couldn't get anything down. I hope there are still some of you interested in reading this, thank you so much btw for the lovely reviews and of course anyone who followed and favourited. The chapter isn't that long but I hope I'll be able to post the next one soon!  
Please keep reading and tell me what you think so far, every opinion is much appreciated. Have fun!

* * *

She must have passed out for a minute, because when she opens her eyes, Kate finds the man hovering over her face, testing her pupils reaction with a bright little flashlight. He presses the button on the sticks end and puts it into the pocket of his blue scrubs. "Miss Beckett, my name's Dr. Cedric Philips. Do you understand me?"

Nodding slowly (not too fast or her head explodes), she tries to regain her voice. "Yeah." It's raspy and barely audible but there nonetheless. A terrible shock wave of pain floods through her body as Kate attempts to sit up and it's only then that she realizes that Castle is still holding her hand, alternately squeezing her fingers together and loosening his grip while his thumb soothingly caresses over the back of her hand.

"Can you tell me where your pain is originating?", her doctor asks slowly to make sure she gets everything. Normally something like that would insult her, but right now she's glad about it, because concentrating on the words and their meaning whilst still not knowing what brought her here is a lot to process. And it scares her. A lot.

"Dun-no. Head. Legs. Everywhere."

Running an unsteady hand through her messy hair, she closes her eyes and wills her brain to finally clear away the fog around her memories and unveil the mystery of how she got here. There has to be something!

"Wha' happen' to me?" she asks again, this time directing her question towards Dr. Philips, who looks at her with a friendly but professional expression on his face. Switching her glance between Castle and him, Kate waits for an answer.

"You broke both of your legs and hit your head when falling. We kept you in an induced coma for eight weeks to allow your body to recover before exposing your brain to the stress of your injuries. We were able to treat your legs, so you have a great chance to fully regain their function when the healing process is finished."

Wow. A great chance? Does that mean that there was the possibility that she'd never walk like before again?

Castle read her thoughts and hold her hand a little tighter to gain her attention.

"Kate, hey, it's gonna be fine. You'll be fine." Smiling reassuringly at her, he hoped she'd believe that, too. She needed to be fine.

"The nurse is going to give you something to reduce the pain. It may make you feel a little dizzy, but don't worry, you'll be fine. I'm gonna come and check on you in a few hours, I suggest you rest until then."

With that Dr. Philips turned around and went to the door. "Your fiancé can stay as long as that doesn't agitate you."

Her eyes find Castle's. So it wasn't a dream.

"Yeah, Kate about that, they wouldn't let me stay, so I had to tell them I was your fiancé. Please don't get mad." He feels like the little boy who stole the cookie but at the same time so very relieved she's awake and okay.

"'S okay, Cast-le, people wouda found out any... -way"

Looking at her quizzically he wants to start speaking again, when Dr. Philips who is still standing on the threshold and has obviously figured out what's going on, cuts him off.

"Mr. Castle, can I talk to you for a second please?"

* * *

They are standing in the corridor in front of Beckett's room, talking in low voices.

"So you want to tell me she really thinks we are engaged?", Castle asks unbelieving.

"Sometimes people in a coma have very vital and lifelike dreams. It can cause immense psychological and emotional damage to tell the patient that what they thought was reality isn't right after waking up in an unfamiliar environment in addition to their difficult physical condition. I'm not a psychologist, but I'd advise you to find out how much Miss Beckett remembers and go with her false memories until she fully recovers. Let her cope with her injuries first before making her realize that she was living in a dream."

"What, you say I'm supposed to lie to her and pretend that we're a couple rather than just be honest and tell her the truth?" No, no, no, this is wrong on so many levels. The last time he lied to her their partnership broke apart over it.

"Just til she gets better. In some cases recovery can be slowed drastically by such emotional trauma. What she needs most now is support and help from her loved ones. Of course, it's for you to decide, I can't tell you what to do, I can only tell you what experience taught me."

The doctor smiles politely and nods his head towards him and leaves Castle alone with his thoughts.


End file.
